Maternity Commissioner
Debate between Baroness Gohir and Baroness Blake of Leeds
Baroness Gohir (CB)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and declare an interest that I am the CEO of the Muslim Women’s Network, whose report recommending a maternity commissioner is cited in the Question.
Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Blake of Leeds) (Lab)
My Lords, while there are outstanding examples of care, I know that there are serious issues in maternity services. That is why this Government launched an independent national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal care, chaired by the noble Baroness, Lady Amos, which is expected to make recommendations this spring. Her interim report, published last Friday, reveals systemic, sustained and recurring failures in maternity and neonatal care. Due to the investigation’s ongoing work, there are currently no plans to appoint a maternity commissioner.
Baroness Gohir (CB)
My Lords, Louise Thompson and Theo Clarke are present today and I thank them for joining us. They started a petition several weeks ago asking the Government to appoint a maternity commissioner. That petition has now reached more than 146,000 signatories, sending a strong signal to the Government. Will the Government commit to meeting them and me, once the noble Baroness, Lady Amos, has concluded her report, to discuss this issue further, and what are they doing to tackle racism in maternity services?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I welcome them to the House. Our sympathies go out to them, and I praise their bravery in the work they have been doing to highlight their own circumstances and, importantly, those of others. I want to be absolutely clear: the Government were faced with around 740 recommendations from different reports over the years, which is why the review has been called by the Secretary of State. The recommendations that will come from that very soon will lead to an action plan delivered by a national task force chaired by the Secretary of State himself, which shows the seriousness with which he takes this situation. We want to deliver systemic change. I know that many parents have made representations to the Secretary of State, and it is very important that the voices of women in particular are heard in this debate. I look forward to the action plan when it comes forward.
National Curriculum: Religious Education
Debate between Baroness Gohir and Baroness Blake of Leeds
Baroness Gohir (CB)
My Lords, can the Minister say when the school curriculum will include the contribution of minority ethnic communities—for example, to World Wars I and II, to rebuilding Britain after World War II and to the NHS, which is a contemporary contribution? Some 18% of doctors are Muslim.
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I can only repeat that I cannot be specific about the content of the curriculum after the finding of the review, but all the matters that the noble Baroness raises around inclusion, respect and recognising achievements in the areas that she mentioned are critical. We look forward to the result of the findings and the debates that will continue as a consequence.